---
category: Private Organization
end: 1995
location: Burbank, California, USA
start: 1926
summary: The Lockheed Aircraft Company is an USA aerospace manufacturer that developed
  advanced military aircraft and became involved in a bribe scandal affecting Israel
  politics.
tags:
- Organization
- Private
- Aerospace
- USA
---

The [Lockheed Aircraft Company](/organizations/lockheed-aircraft-company/) is an [American](/places/united-states/) aerospace manufacturer that developed advanced military aircraft and became involved in a bribe scandal affecting [Israeli](/places/israel/) politics.

### U-2 Spy Plane Development

Lockheed built the revolutionary [U-2 Spy Plane](/concepts/u-2-spy-plane/) under cover in Burbank, California. This aircraft was capable of flying and gliding for almost eleven hours at heights greater than 65,000 feet, covering more than five thousand miles, while utilizing only one thousand gallons of fuel. Special lenses, cameras, and thin film were developed for the U-2, enabling it to photograph a path from [Moscow](/places/moscow/) to Tashkent in one take.[^2]

### Israeli Bribery Scandal

In 1976, a telegram intercepted by [Unit 8200](/organizations/unit-8200/) revealed details of bribes paid by a [Lockheed](/organizations/lockheed-aircraft-company/) representative in [Israel](/places/israel/) to Defense Minister [Shimon Peres](/people/shimon-peres/). The sum involved was $3.5 million, deposited in one of [Peres's](/people/shimon-peres/) brother's business accounts in Europe. This information, discovered by [Ari Ben-Menashe](/people/ari-ben-menashe/), was subsequently covered up by [Israeli](/places/israel/) military intelligence superiors, including [Col. Ben-Porat](/people/yoel-ben-porat/) and [Lt. Col. Yishaek](/people/sasson-yishaek/).[^1]

[^1]: Ben-Menashe, Ari. _Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network_. TrineDay, 1992.
[^2]: Hersh, Seymour M. _The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy_. Random House, 1991. Chapter 4.